Alcatel Lucent this week released an update of its OpenTouch Suite for SMBs, expanding their social and mobile capabilities

The OpenTouch Suite for SMB includes various solutions, with the OmniPCX Office Rich Communication Edition (RCE) Release 9.0. OmniPCX Office RCE R9.0 adds a range of new capabilities that facilitate information-sharing and collaboration for on- and off-site workers to increase productivity and customer interactions.

New solutions include the following:

My IC Social Networks - Employees can get social with internal and external contacts via channels like Skype, Facebook, Yahoo, and MSN as My IC Social Networks synchs with employees' Outlook directories and presence. Combined with the OmniPCX Office Rich Communications Edition to offer telephony capabilities, My IC Social Networks creates a productive and interactive social environment for employees to collaborate or serve customers.

Mobility - New IP DECT Access Point enables use of more features and services, like Universal Directory Access, while supporting a mobile environment. When outside the company, My IC Mobile for iPhone and Android applications keep employees connected no matter where, at anytime.

Video and Visual Collaboration - Two new video solutions are available for either video telephony via the My IC Phone video endpoint or video conferencing with LifeSIZE Unity 50, giving employees the ability to share knowledge, boost productivity, and increase value in the business via real-time visual collaboration calls.

My IC Web for Office - Provides browser-based unified communication services so employees can access, monitor, and manage their calls, change settings, or issue a call from their favorite browsers.

Additional SIP capacity of up to 120 SIP phones is now offered on the OmniPCX Office R9.0.

Smart call routing.

"The Alcatel-Lucent OmniPCX Office gives SMBs the advantage to be more competitive and provide the tools to expand their mobile workforce and integrate popular social networks. Mobility is important to business success, as it offers accuracy, precision and speed into customer-facing interactions," said Eric Penisson, general manager of communications business at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. "The new release assures SMBs they can take on the next generation of applications and services, including social networks, at a reasonable cost."